You need to keep your Android phone safe and secure. We can help.

The good news is we've got more tools than ever at our disposal should something bad happen to your phone or tablet. There's absolutely no reason for you to lose data anymore. Nor is there any reason for you to fear the security of your data should your phone be lost or stolen. And if you're using your phone for work as well as personal business, there's no reason why your company should have to worry that its data is secure.

There are plenty of options.

For personal use, you've got to start by putting a lock code on your phone. Be it a simple PIN, pattern, password or facial recognition, you simply can't afford to have your business spread out where anyone can see it. (In fact, stop what you're doing and check your phone. If you don't have a lock code on it, here's how to add one.) But that's only half the battle. We recommend using a password manager that helps you create and store unrecognizable passwords — gibberish, really — to keep scammers from simply guessing their way in. And then we demand that you start using two-step authentication — a password and a unique, one-time code sent to your phone — for your most trusted accounts. That means Google. That means Facebook. That means Twitter.

You simply can't afford to.

For businesses, you've got things like Samsung's SAFE and KNOX, which help provide walled gardens for apps or data, under company control and completely separate from your personal stuff. That means your stuff is yours, their stuff is theirs, and never the twain shall meet, all on one device. And there are other options, too, from many other providers.

It's an old wives' tale that Android isn't secure. It's only not secure if you don't bother to make it secure. And we'll help you through it.

All Security

Passwords, passwords, passwords
Have we mentioned lately the importance of using a password? Whether it's on your device itself, or any of your accounts, you've got to keep things behind a password. And that goes for making purchases from Google Play as well.
A more recent bone of contention...

Sometimes it's best to hide your location in Android
When you first set up your Android smartphone you'll be asked about location services, and whether you want the phone to use them. Google has its own services, and sometimes your carrier will have its own that you'll need to approve as well....

One of the less sexy but more important announcements at Google I/O last month was that Google is adopting part of Samsung's enterprise (as in corporate) security system into the L release of Android. The short version is that it'll be easier than ever to have your work data on your phone...

The folks working on the security-centric Android-powered Blackphone have posted a rebuttal to the criticisms made by BlackBerry recently. The piece focuses primarily on BlackBerry's poor market performance, dwindling stock price, and ultimate reliance on competing platforms.
The main selling...

Google has announced a new security initiative called Project Zero, with the broad mandate of making the internet a more secure space. Full-time researchers will identify threats through the most widely-used applications, submit bug reports directly to the developers, and announce the changes...

The UK government is looking to reinforce powers of security services to require internet and phone providers to maintain records of customer email and calls. Emergency laws are to be introduced into the Commons next Monday, following private talks and gaining support of both Labour and the...

The Indian Controller of Certifying Authorities (India CCA) has launched an investigation into the issue of unauthorized digital certificates to Google by the National Informatics Center Certifying Authority. Such a certificate could have been used to trick a service into thinking that a fake...

The UK government's Department of Transport has now joined with the U.S. in requiring that passengers on some international flights coming in and out of the country must show that their electronic devices can be powered up, in an effort to improve security.
The new notice from the department...

Everyone's favorite bug-ridden plug-in is back in the news, this time with a new critical security flaw that can be leveraged to steal user data. A Google engineer named Michele Spagnuolo was able to create a Flash exploit tool engineered to steal cookies and user data using malicious .SWF files...

Blackphone is a sturdy smartphone focusing on nothing more than user privacy and security. The Android mobile device focuses on rigorous security and is now shipping to the first wave of purchasers. For those who aren't familiar with the device itself, it's a result of a partnership between...

Whether it's under the couch or in the hands of the bad guy, Android Device Manager will help you find or erase your missing phone
While we hope you'll never need to use it, Android has a great native tool to help locate and remote wipe a lost or stolen phone. It's called Android Device Manager...

Yo! Remember the hit new app that managed $1 million in funding we covered yesterday, which enables smartphone owners to send "Yo" alerts to contacts? The service has been hacked by a student and two roommates. Yo has confirmed they're investigating the hack and expect to have the security...

After having been available for preorder since the beginning of the year, the privacy-centric Blackphone will be shipping in three weeks for $629. The device is pitched as an Android smartphone that's designed around security and privacy, both areas of growing concerns with the rise of malicious...

Premium features free till Aug. 1; app reverts to a reader after that
OK, folks. If you've long been suffering the 1Password Reader app on Android, your day has come. There's an all-new 1Password app available today on Google Play, and you're going to want to get this one as soon as possible. (...

Lookout, one of the well-known names in mobile security, is improving its offering today with what it calls "Theft Alerts." On top of the comprehensive suite of security features it already offers, Theft Alerts makes it even easier to be alerted and track when a phone is stolen. In the...

Your Android smartphone is the most personal computer you own. No other device is with you virtually every second of every day, and so over the course of a standard two-year contract you'll be presented with plenty of opportunities to misplace it.
Fortunately, over the past few years Android...

Google's rolled out a set of four new enterprise security features that will make it even easier to secure Android devices on a corporate network, and secure the network itself. The update to the Google Apps Mobile Management tools will enable administrators to remotely and automatically wipe...

Earlier today, eBay issued a press release letting users know that a cyberattack "compromised a database containing encrypted passwords and other non-financial data." Users will be asked to change their passwords just in case, though they noted that eBay "has seen no indication of increased...

Keeping infected apps off your Android requires common sense more than anything
It's not exactly a secret that Android's pretty open, and that it's possible for bad people to do bad things with apps. That's possible with any computer system, of course. And like any other computer system, Android...

The critical response to the Galaxy S5's fingerprint-scanning features may have been muted, but Samsung seems undeterred in its efforts to spread biometric security capabilities across its mobile device lineup. According to The Wall Street Journal, Samsung SVP Rhee In-jong told investors and...

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